About to DM in DnD for the second time ever. This is my first time making a campaign.
Any tips for writing adventures or DMing?
>>46318211
>Try to hook the players with something interesting within the first session.
>Make sure to specify to the players ahead of time what classes will and wont be useful in the campaign. If there isn't a lot of room for diplomacy make sure they know that before they pick Bard and max out on charisma skills.
>If a player comes up with an idea that works but you didn't plan for sometimes it helps to just humor them rather than improvise a reason why they can't do it.
>The best way to deal with interparty conflict is to have a threat show up and force the players to work together, if they don't then maybe one of them dies and the problem goes away.
>>46318211
How did your first time go?
All I can say is learn from your mistakes, after the session note down things you think you did wrong, and try to think of a way to improve on them, think of what you did really well, and be sure to keep doing it.
Ask for feedback from your players too.
>>46318557
Should I start the session immediately with a hook that thrusts them into the adventure?
>>46318687
I would say it depends on what you have going, whats your plan currently?
Communicate with your players openly and clearly. Ask them what kind of game they want and then talk about the type of game you'd like to run and figure what everyone wants. Then make sure they do by giving some examples so you dont end up like the GoT GM OP.
90% of games breaking down comes from GMs and players wanting different flavoured campaigns and being too autistic to voice it.
>>46318740
This also
>>46318661
Not too bad. I was inspired by a story I found online, kinda like a murder mystery, and just let the players do whatever they wanted. I did a lot of improv which worked pretty well but I don't know if that will work scaling up.
>>46318703
The town that the PC's start out in is suddenly attacked by orcs. After the attack is repelled (if they choose to do so), the baron will ask for the PC's to find where they're coming from/why they are. They'll later find out that the orcs are moving out of their lands and into human lands because demons have been coming out of a portal in the ground after dwarves opened it through mining deep in the earth.Plz no bully
>>46318815
What you might want to do then is make sure your party is so inclined to want to stop a demonic incursion, and think of reasons why each character would risk their life to do it. so for classes like the cleric/paladin its nice and easy but you need to make sure the players have an excuse to go ahead and follow your hooks. Other than that it sounds pretty solid, nice and simple to start off with.
Let your plans be as dark and impenetrable as the night, and when you move, fall like the thunderbolt... that is to say plan out, don't force the plan. Do push a direction when they players get bogged down with circlejerking.
>>46318211
>Don't get attached to anything you create.
The game is the plaything of your friends first, and an outlet for creative writing second.
>Flowcharts, flowcharts, flowcharts.
When creating content, I always use a flowchart so I can have an idea of what to do based on what major decisions the players make. Player choice is what makes or breaks a game, and understanding the illusion of choice can make or break your mental health. If you don't feel like planning out almost every potential scenario, design an encounter so that multiple choices will lead to the same result with only minor variables that you can ad lib as you go.
>Make sure the players are separate but equal. They should each have their own roles to play in the party, and encounters should be designed to give every player an equal shot at the spotlight. If the Fighter finds a Vorpal Sword in a trashbin, don't gimp the fighter, just add more enemies so the Cleric can provide support and the Wizard can focus on crowd control and big spells.
>Emphasize teamwork
DnD, at its heart, is a team effort, and games live or die based on the synergy between the players. Inspire some camaraderie in the party by throwing unique challenges at the players that can only be solved through teamwork. Say they're exploring a crypt, and the villain of the week has destroyed the stairs leading to the next area. The Wizard can just Fly to the top and drop a rope down, or the party can stand on each others' shoulders and hoist each other up. Little acts of teamwork like this go a long way towards making the game a fun experience for everyone involved. Always reward the players when they try to brainstorm as a team.
>>46318887
What if there are some assholes that make a character that are edgy and don't want to work in a team or have any overlapping goals
>>46318211
Sam?
>>46319252
Then tell them no and make a new character, you're the boss and make sure they know it, make characters with them, help them weave it into your world and get them pumped about playing it, then you will avoid that situation entirely.
>>46319558
Not OP but I have a question about DMing. What do I do between downtime of adventures. How keep interest after they just got done killing a dungeon boss?
>>46319668
Is this the /tg/ Krab?
>>46320031
>>46319989
Make it matter, give them a hook thats "related" so their job isnt really finished yet
>>46319989
Give them hobbies or jobs that they do when they aren't out fighting bad guys..
Have them track down people rich enough to buy their loot and haggle the prices..
Put them in charge of renovating a town that one of the party members inherited through the power of PLOT.
Give them an ever-increasing horde of adoring fans who cheer them on, ask for autographs, and stalk.
Have them go to the bar with any NPC contacts they made for a round of drinks, dice-rolling games, a round of darts, dancing, drunk wrastling, etc.
Get them involved in Ye Olde Marketing Campaigns and turn the heroes into the corporate mascots for Bjorn's Balls Soap: Soap For Your Balls, made from the top 1% of pig fat, the gooood fat, the fat that rejuvenates your pores and keeps plague demons from inhabiting your nether regions.
Have the local bards interview each party member individually to hear everyone's comically-exaggerated side of the story.
>>46319243
>flowcharts
Its so much better just to improv on the spot. Players find out how structured it is really quickly with shit like flowcharts
